The parenting life. . .

Firstly, a disclaimer. If you are reading this and you are a parent or grandparent, especially if you have more than one child, I encourage you to reminisce on your own experiences as you read these words and gaze at these pictures. Feel free to laugh until you cry and to "I remember when" all you want to. Just be sure to tell me about it!!

If you are reading this and you are a "preparent" (my term), I imagine that some of this will shock you and you'll think things like "I can't believe she'd let that happen" and "Not when I have kids." Please know that I said those very same words. I vividly remember a phone call from my sister-in-law during which she ranted about her children creating a skating rink in their bathroom by dumping out all the shampoo. I remember thinking then, "Oh, isn't that funny for her. I'm sure it would never happen to me." Ah, I've learned so much since then.

This is what happened when I left my children unsupervised while I went to the bathroom. Perhaps, as my sister suggested, I should start only going to the bathroom when they're asleep:

Apparently Sarah decided to color using her markers and let Bethany get into the container which happened to have a small stamper in it. For those who don't know, a stamper is a cute little toy that puts shaped (think smiley face) stamps on anything you want. The stamper houses ink underneath the cloth surface so they don't have to use an ink pad. However, if you bite the cloth surface and tear at it with your teeth, you will end up with ink all over you. Bethany is the proof:

And then last night when I went to bed, I discovered this:

John is sleeping behind the recliner in the living room. And Sarah is under the Christmas tree. I think they started out hiding from me while I was in the bathroom, and when I didn't come right back out, they fell asleep. ROFL

Ahhh, never a dull moment in the life of a parent.